


At Nico's Request

by calliopecrash



Series: Solangelo Week 2020 [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, M/M, Post-TOA, Solangelo Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24840661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calliopecrash/pseuds/calliopecrash
Summary: For Solangelo Week 2020, Day 1.Nico just wants his boyfriend to be able to spend time with Apollo on Father's Day.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Solangelo Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798315
Comments: 9
Kudos: 161
Collections: Solangelo Week 2020





	At Nico's Request

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure: this is my first fic ever and I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing, but I was inspired by Solangelo Week and all the other amazing PJO fans out there to give it a try!

Visiting Hades in the Underworld for Father’s Day had been…surreal, to say the least. Ever since that encounter at the old church in Évora while transporting the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood, Hades had been making an effort to regularly engage in some awkward, mortal-style “father-son bonding” with Nico. Of course, fishing on the banks of the Styx and fetching Babe Ruth from Elysium for a game of catch in the garden of Hades’ palace were hardly the sort of things mortal fathers did with their sons, but Nico appreciated that Hades was at least making an effort.

Which was more than he could say for his boyfriend’s flighty father.

‘Hey!’ Will greeted him cheerfully when Nico entered the infirmary upon his arrival back from visiting Hades. ‘How’d it go?’ He finished wrapping a bandage around Harley’s arm, then drew Nico into a warm hug and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek.

Nico let out a wry chuckle and returned the hug, despite the eight year old son of Hephaestus’ eyes upon them.

‘The Lord of the Dead is currently wearing a t-shirt with “(Under)World’s Greatest Dad” emblazoned on the chest - and _no_ , it wasn’t a gift from me. It was a…memorable visit, to say the least.’

Will snorted when he laughed, which shouldn’t have been attractive, but Nico was so hopelessly smitten with this cute, sunshiney dork, he couldn’t help but find it endearing.

‘Did he mention me at all?’ Will asked hopefully. It was only recently that Nico had told Hades about his relationship with the son of Apollo, and it was obvious that Will was eager to win the god of the underworld’s approval.

‘He said to tell you hello from him,’ Nico replied honestly. He decided not to mention that Hades’ exact phrasing had been _‘tell that glowy boyfriend of yours I send my regards, but that if he doesn’t treat you right I won’t hesitate to send him directly to the fields of punishment’_.

Will’s smile brightened even further at this, then he turned back to Harley.

‘Your arm’s gonna be fine, Harls, don’t worry - but no heavy lifting for the rest of the day, okay?’

‘But my gift for Heph-’ Harley began, pouting, before Will cut him off.

‘The best gift you can give your dad is to keep yourself in one piece,’ Will told him, still smiling, as he retrieved the battered sheet of metal that had presumably been the cause of young Harley’s injuries. It was obvious to Nico that the boy had been trying to blast a Father’s Day message into it, but between his poor spelling and the sudden interruption, the resulting inscription had ended up as simply “Happy Fart”.

‘Okay,’ Harley sighed. He took the battered metal sheet off Will and trudged out of the infirmary.

‘You wouldn’t believe the number of injuries we’ve had today because of Father’s Day gifts and celebrations gone awry,’ Will sighed as he flopped down on the worn infirmary sofa. He patted the seat beside him and Nico joined him, allowing the son of Apollo to pull him into a tender embrace. ‘Ares turned up this morning just after you left, and took all his kids out for a day of paintball and laser tag.’ Will shuddered. ‘Paintball and laser tag with the god of war…well, you can imagine.’

‘Have…have you heard from Apollo today?’ Nico asked tentatively. He could feel Will stiffen slightly against him, and his heart sank.

‘Well, it’s summer, so I guess he’s busy,’ Will replied. ‘Besides,’ he sighed, ‘it’s not like I really expected anything much from him to begin with.’

Now, Nico was starting to feel angry. Will had done so much to help Apollo while he’d been mortal. Surely the least he could do to show his gratitude now that he was a god again was spend a bit of time with his oldest demigod son on Father’s Day.

‘I’m sorry,’ Nico murmured against Will’s shoulder.

‘It’s okay,’ Will said quietly, carding his fingers gently through Nico’s hair. When he looked up though, his eyes were so sad, it nearly broke Nico’s heart. An idea began to form in his mind.

‘I’d better go back to my cabin and have a shower,’ Nico said eventually, reluctantly disentangling himself from Will’s warm, strong arms. ‘I smell like underworld.’ He squeezed Will’s hand and gave him a tiny, reassuring smile. ‘I’ll be back later, _Tesoro_.’

* * * * *

Back at Cabin Thirteen, Nico made quick work of his shower and changed into a clean black t-shirt and jeans before taking a deep breath and shouting up at the sky.

‘Apollo! I want to cash in that favour.’

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a bright light assaulted his vision and the sun god appeared before him in all his golden glory.

It never failed to leave Nico feeling slightly unsettled by just how strongly Apollo in his godly form resembled Will. Apollo’s tan was deeper and his body decidedly more muscular, but they both had the exact same shade of buttery blonde hair, the same bright azure eyes, and even the same smile - though Apollo’s always looked considerably cockier.

‘ _The_ favour?’ Apollo clarified, pushing his sunglasses up into his golden curls.

‘Yes,’ Nico replied firmly. ‘The favour you granted me on that final quest when you were mortal. You said I could call it in for anything I wanted, any time I wanted. And I want to call it in now.’

‘Alright then,’ Apollo replied, not seeming terribly concerned, despite surely knowing that Nico could potentially make his chosen favour any number of things that would cause Apollo great harm. ‘You’ve got about…’ He glanced down at his wrist, even though he wasn’t actually wearing a watch. ‘Ten minutes. I’ve left the sun chariot on autopilot, you know.’

‘I don’t need long.’

‘Okay then, son of Hades. What’s this great favour you want to call in?’

Nico took a deep breath.

‘I want you to spend some time with Will for Father’s Day. The day’s not over yet…there’s still time.’

The cocky smile immediately fell from Apollo’s face.

‘That’s the favour you want?’ He asked softly. Nico nodded resolutely.

‘You could have asked for anything, you know,’ Apollo told him quietly. ‘All sorts of things other demigods could only dream of.’

‘I know,’ Nico agreed. ‘But Will’s happiness is worth more than anything else you could offer.’

For a moment, Nico could’ve sworn he saw a hint of tears pooling in those blue eyes. But then Apollo nodded and broke into a bright - if not forced - smile.

‘As you wish, son of Hades.’ He placed one hand on his chest and closed his eyes briefly. Nico fought the urge to roll his eyes, recognising the gesture as Apollo’s “haiku pose”.

_‘At Nico’s request_

_I’m off to see my boy Will_

_I’m an awesome dad.”_

Apollo beamed, looking pleased with himself. Nico just crossed his arms, looking unimpressed.

‘You know…for what it’s worth,’ Apollo confessed, as his donned his shades again, ‘I didn’t actually realise it was Father’s Day today.’

Then, in another flash of blindingly bright light, he disappeared again.

* * * * *

While Nico took a nap in his cabin - at Will’s insistence, given that he’d shadow-travelled to and from the underworld earlier in the day - the son of Apollo decided to clear his head with a walk down to the lake to watch the sunset. Even when he was upset with his dad, the sun always made him feel better, and he wanted to take advantage of the tiny bit of its presence that remained before nightfall.

He’d been settled down on the grass for barely a minute when he felt a sudden presence behind him, and the air against his back immediately felt warmer.

‘Apollo?’

Will couldn’t hide his surprise, even though deep down he’d been hoping all day that his father might still turn up to visit.

‘Hey kiddo!’ Apollo greeted him cheerfully, flashing him a dazzling grin. ‘Happy Father’s Day!’

‘I think that’s what I’m supposed to be saying to _you_ ,’ Will replied, chuckling softly.

‘You’re growing up so handsome,’ Apollo said fondly as he ruffled Will’s hair. ‘You’re looking more and more like me every time I see you!’

‘Um…thanks, I think?’

‘Damn right that’s a compliment,’ Apollo replied, winking. Will couldn’t help but laugh.

‘I’m sorry it’s so late in the day,’ Apollo continued, his expression more serious now. ‘But if you’re up for spending some time together…well,’ he smiled warmly, ‘here I am.’

* * * * *

They went for a drive first, so that Apollo could set the sun. Sitting in the passenger seat of the sun chariot (in Maserati mode, of course), telling an enthusiastic Apollo about the new healing techniques he’d been learning from his Roman siblings, felt surreal but wonderful. Afterwards, Apollo teleported them to the beach, then to Will’s favourite bakery back home in Texas, where they picked up some sweet treats to bring back to the Apollo cabin to share with Austin and Kayla.

By the time Apollo finally left, it was late at night and Will was happy but exhausted. He opened the door of Cabin Seven to the sight of a softly smiling Nico, dressed in his skull patterned pyjamas.

‘Looks like you guys had fun,’ Nico remarked, smirking at the sight of the half-empty tray of yellow-frosted cupcakes, all with “Apollo rocks!” squiggled on to them in gold. Austin and Kayla were both already asleep in their bunks while Will cleaned up.

‘We did,’ Will replied, his eyes bright and his face flushed with happiness. ‘Though I kinda wish you’d been here too.’ He wrapped his arms around Nico lovingly, and kissed the top of his head.

‘Maybe next time,’ Nico promised. ‘I’m just glad you got to spend some time with your dad.’

‘Me too,’ Will agreed happily. He gave Nico another gentle squeeze before pulling away.

‘I nearly forgot, Apollo left this for you.’

‘For me?’ Nico echoed with surprise as Will handed him a small square box with a bakery logo on the top.

‘Yeah,’ Will chuckled. ‘I’m guessing it’s a cupcake, probably to make sure you got one if we ended up eating all the rest.’

Amused, Nico opened the box. Inside was a single cupcake with black icing, and the words “Nico rocks!” in the same gold squiggle as on the others. Taped to the inside of the lid was a short note.

_‘I (still) O U 1 (one) favour._

_\- Your hopeful future father-in-law, Apollo.’_

‘Everything okay?’ Will asked as Nico stealthily tucked the note into his pocket.

Nico nodded, a warm and genuine smile spreading across his face.

‘Everything’s perfect.’


End file.
